A Book Club for "The Left Hand of Darkness" Part 3 初めての読書会３

The discussion started after the self-introducing. I'd never met so many book lovers at a time, so I felt a bit overwhelmed first, but gradually I felt at ease being among them. We had some things in common: book lover, a feminist. I don't think that I could express how happy I was there. There are some things that I won't dare to do under the Japanese culture:Talking about feminismComing out that I'm a feministDiscussing literature and anything else Even at university, though I went to a women's university, I got to know that one should learn how not to discuss, especially what kinds of themes one must avoid. I don't remember when I joined an enthusiastic discussion like this. It was totally a new experience.When I was a school kid, reading this book in English was one of my dreams, but I never expected on me that I could talk about it with other readers in English. Sadly my English wasn't good enough to express all of my opinions, but I think I mostly followed the topics. It was such an inspiring experience.

The phrase "coming out" in English is pretty much only used in the context of coming out as gay (or: "coming out of the closet" - a euphemism for coming out as gay.) It might be used humorously in other contexts.

Sadly my English wasn't good enough to express all of my opinions, but I think I mostly followed the topics.

This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

It was such an inspiring experience.

This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!

Have you heard of the English phrase "sex, religion and politics"? It's said that these are the three topics that you should never bring up in polite company. ^^ I think we have less taboos in the west, though. I've had conversations about feminism before, for instance.

I enjoyed reading these! It's nice that you had such a good experience.

Thank you so much for your all correction, Robert! I am wondering if I could write more about the book club... I haven't written about what we discussed yet!Somehow your comment reminded me of the president of USA. I agree that those topics shouldn't been brought up in formal situations. If you say that you are a feminist, you might sound antisocial. But it's only in the case of women. Men can say the same thing and it is acceptable.

I avoid discussion itself. I always avoid to be dropped into a situation that I have to discuss with my colleagues or all kinds of people, except few of my close friends. When you say your honest opinion about something, Japanese people might take it as a personal insult. I think that we, Japanese people should learn how to discuss productively, how to learn from others' opinions or different viewpoints, how to listen to others with respect, how to express your opinions but not in one-sided way. As robert438 mentioned, there are some topics that people don't like(shouldn't bring up) and if you want to talk about LGBT or feminism in Japan, you can't be popular.

>>though I went to a women's university, I got to know that one should learn how not to discuss, especially what kinds of themes one must avoid. >Can you give an example? Like who said what exactly to you, and why? (If you're okay with that.)University students shouldn't point out or correct professor's mistakes, for example, they don't know much about women's body. In one literature course, we read a short fiction written by a female author. When we came to a scene that a girl pees, the professor said something incorrect. What he said was totally physically impossible, I think that every student noticed that, but nobody pointed out. In short, to men you shouldn't say that they are making a mistake or that they are ignorant.

Thanks for your detailed reply. Of course I am in no position to say what Japanese people should or shouldn't do, but there probably needs to be an open discussion about these things at some point in the near future. It might already be happening if you look at the reactions to what 杉田水脈 said recently.

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The discussion started after the self-introducing. I'd never met so many book lovers at a time, so I felt a bit overwhelmed first, but gradually I felt at ease being among them. We had some things in common: book lover, a feminist.
I don't think that I could express how happy I was there.
There a